Analysis on the Success of Coca-Cola Marketing Strategy

1 Analysis on the Success of Coca-Cola Marketing Strategy Bodi Chu RDFZ Chaoyang Branch School, Beijing, China *Corresponding author. Email: ABSTRACT Nowadays, Coca-Cola could be found in every corner of the world. No matter you are in the most bustling city or a remote village, there must be a Coca-Cola vending machine near by your house. In 1998, the brand value of Coca-Cola reached billion US dollars, ranking first in the world for three consecutive years. This paper reports a longitudinal study on the factors of successful Coca-Cola Marketing Strategy . Because the development of Coca-Cola company lasts for a hundred years, the study collects some data from Internet, then does the Analysis and draws the conclusion.

2 After reading this article, it will be easier for you to measure how Coca-Cola operates successfully from three indicators: advertising, product innovation and brand culture. Keywords: Coca-Cola , Marketing Strategy , advertising, product innovation, brand culture 1. INTRODUCTION The Coca-Cola is the largest beverage company in the world, with a global market share of 48%. And Coca-Cola is in the Fortune Global 500 list these years which shows this company has already been an empire in the beverage industry. But actually in 1886, Coca-Cola was initially sold in pharmacies, with the first coke selling for 5 cents and an average of nine bottles a day. Looking back now, it is extremely hard for us to believe that 134 years ago the Coca-Cola made only $ a day.

3 The dramatic shift in Coca-Cola 's market position caught my attention. Thus, this paper sheds light on, what efforts the Coca-Cola made helps it become the most successful beverage brand in the world. In terms of Marketing Strategy , this study tends to briefly analyze from three aspects: advertisement, product innovation, and brand culture. This study will improve our understanding of how a company runs successfully and guide us to learn its methodology. 2. Analysis The Achievement of Coca-Cola Company Figure 1 The world s most chosen consumer brands [1] Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research, volume 155 Proceedings of the 2020 2nd International Conference on Economic Management and Cultural Industry (ICEMCl 2020)Copyright 2020 The Authors.

4 Published by Atlantis Press is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license - Advertisement Coca-Cola 's advertising Strategy is unmatched in the world. John Woodruff, the former boss of Coca-Cola , famously said: " Coca-Cola is carbonic acid, syrup and water. If it wasn't advertised, who would drink it? [2] Indeed, the Success of Coca-Cola heavily depends on its advertising. Coca-Cola now spends more than $600 million a year on advertising worldwide. Taking China as an example, Coca-Cola was the first foreign company to enter in China after China's reform and opening up, and the first to advertise in China. At that time, China asked Coca-Cola for sponsorship.

5 Therefore, Coca-Cola offered a condition of sponsorship: a Coca-Cola commercial was added before the documentary aired. This became the beginning in the history of TV advertisement in New China. In order to raise waves in China, the country which has largest population in the world, Coca-Cola 's advertising Strategy has changed significantly in 1997. It abandoned the typical American style advertisement put in China, instead, the company began to incorporate local Chinese culture into its ads then released them to the Chinese market. Simply put, Coca-Cola s New Year s Film for China shot in a typical Chinese situation. Traditional Chinese arts such as couplets, puppets and paper-cuts were used to express the strong local flavor of China through folk activities such as sticking Spring Festival couplets and setting off fireworks.

6 In a short space of time, Coca-Cola became a local product in China, and this acquainted image indeed achieved the effect of communicating with Chinese consumers. So the company decided to choose the Chinese idols who are highly topical to be their image spokesman. Figure 2 Coca-Cola global beverage volumes [3] At 22:08 on the evening of July 13, 2001, President of the International Olympic Committee, Mr. Samaranch announced that Beijing would be the host city of the 2008 Olympic Games. immediately, Coca-Cola launched its production line and logistics chain overnight to create a new gold, limited edition, commemorative can for the successful Olympic bid. However, other oversea beverage brands introduced to China during the same period only used their local advertising style which could not attract Chinese customers.

7 Not only in China, the Coca-Cola set off a craze all over the world. indicates that the Coca-Cola dominates the beverage market with a large volume. [3] Apparently, Coca-Cola s advertising Success has proved to be very competitive in the beverage market. Product innovation When a large number of small innovations continue to improve and accumulate to a certain extent, there will be a huge innovation that leads to qualitative change. For catering companies, mutational innovation has potential risks. Gradually increasing the added value of products damages to industry pattern and is also conducive to the long-term development of the company. Coca-Cola understands this theory well so their approach is incremental innovation, that is to fully live up the development possibility in a bottle of small carbonated drinks.

8 Before the 21st century, the Coca-Cola had elaborately designed their product and kept bringing some new ideas. For instance, in 1916, in order to Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research, volume 15597distinguish Coca-Cola from its competitors, the company introduced the classic contour bottle, which can be recognized even after dark. In 1923, Coca-Cola went public in six packs. Although the carton packing is common today, it was still an innovation at that time, as Coca-Cola encouraged people to take their bottles home and drink more of them. Furthermore, what needs to be mentioned is that Diet Coke made soda history in 1982 as the brand extension of Coca-Cola and Coke in the first time.

9 In less than two years, Diet Coke became the no. 1 low-calorie soda drink in the world. Apart from this, entering the 21st century, the Coca-Cola has not only innovated their products but also created a lifestyle for people. For example, the society advocates every one to chase for the healthier drinks, yet, the carbonated drinks give most of us an unhealthy impression. Coca-Cola knows well the consumers concern, so in 2017, Coke Zero Sugar was announced with an artificial aspartame sweetener. Then Coca Cola introduces the Zero Calorie Plus which helps to inhibit fat absorption and decreases triglycerides in the blood after eating. [4] It is not difficult to see that the innovation of the above products is around the common topic of "health", in order to be closer to consumers' pursuit of healthy life.

10 To everyone s surprise, the Coca-Cola not only puts its eyes on the drinks, but also makes people find Coca-Cola everywhere in their lives. From clothes, shoes to lighters and even beauty products, Coca Cola has injected new blood by co-branding with many of popular and fashionable brands, and to a certain extent, it has rekindled its appeal to the younger generation of consumers. The reason why Coca-Cola performs so outstanding in product innovation is that they know their products well and make the best use of their value. Brand culture Brand is the wings of goods, which means goods rely on the brand popularity and go far. After a hundred years of efforts, Coca-Cola has grown to be a mature brand with its own profound culture.